Vegetarian/Vegan?

Thanks to my friend, MacPatti, I'm here to address the questions raised by the OP. I agree with MacPatti that it's really irritating when people come onto threads like this and say 'Oh if you like meat, keep eating it.' It's dismissive of the OP's question.

So now for the OP's questions:


-Was it difficult to give up eating meat?

I gave up eating eat as a teenager in 1973. Back then, there were almost no specialty foods for vegetarians. Even soymilk had to be made from scratch. Back then, I substituted way too much dairy for the meat I wasn't eating. It was delicious, but fattening as all get out. Now, I think there are veg-friendly products in even small grocery stores, so I think it would be much easier. Just think about the foods you eat now and enjoy--some are probably naturally vegetarian, and some can be adapted with faux 'burger' etc.

-What kind of a difference has giving up meat made in how you feel/your health?

That's hard to say since it's going on 40 years! But, many people my age (57) have cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, and I don't have any of those problems. Can I prove for sure it's the vegetarian diet that has kept me healthy? No. But, I suspect it has played a part. I feel great!

-What are some good resources to learn more about plant based diets?

My favorite book on nutrition is 'Vegan for Life' by Virginia Messina. She has a very useful website too: www.theveganrd.com

Best of luck to you! Feel free to message my anytime or 'friend' me.

I'm mostly here to second Vegan For Life and www.veganrd.com. Awesome resources, including good documentation of peer reviewed publications (I hate when I read something and the author doesn't tell me where the info is coming from).

But while I'm here I'll answer the rest anyway.

-Was it difficult to give up eating meat?
Not at all. I had this strange idea that I "couldn't give up meat" (partially because I have a genetic form of mild anemia), but I had a lot of ethical issues with meat. So I was purposefully cutting down on my meat consumption, I figured even if I couldn't give meat up completely, less meat was better. After a couple of months of "cutting down" I went to someone's home for Thanksgiving and was served free-range, organic turkey. And I couldn't eat it, it grossed me out. Almost 10 years later I haven't looked back. I don't miss meat at all. I don't eat many meat substitutes (a veggie burger once in a *long* while), because they just don't appeal to me. Cheese and yogurt were harder to give up, because I loved both, but again, when I consciously cut back on them over a period of time, I eventually found that I lost my taste for them.


-What kind of a difference has giving up meat made in how you feel/your health?

When I gave up meat, I noticed that some GI issues I'd had for years improved significantly. Other than that, I don't know how much of a difference it makes. I believe that there are healthy and unhealthy diets across the eating spectrum (omni to vegan), but I can tell you that veg*n diets are better for animals and the planet.

I became a vegetarian on my own when I was 13. It was not difficult for me because I had always disliked meat. Now, I am no longer a vegetarian, but I still eat a predominantly plant based diet on a daily basis and that is just natural for me. But, I also eat eggs, plain yogurt and sometimes chicken (at restaurants I order salad with chicken).

I'm coming up on 8 years of vegetarianism; one of those years (plus a few months) I was a full vegan.

-was it difficult to give up eating meat?
Even though I loved meat (except for pig-based meats, oddly, since everyone goes on and on about how wonderful bacon is), it was relatively easy for me to give it up. Like someone else mentioned, it was just kind of a switch. I no longer see it as food. I'm sure I'd love it just as much if I started eating it again, but it's off the table for me (pun intended).

-what kind of a difference has giving up meat made in how you feel/your health?
I don't think it's made much of a difference. I lost around 10 to 15lbs when I first went vegetarian, but I think that's mostly because I started eating clean. Before that I had been eating a lot of junk. It's easy to be healthy as a vegetarian, but it's also easy to be unhealthy as one imo. Veganism is a little harder I think, but still doable as a healthy diet/lifestyle. I think I'd be just as healthy/unhealthy as an omnivore as it's really about how well-rounded you make your diet and how much you rely on processed foods, sugars, too many fats, carbs, etc. You can make those mistakes either way. I'm an "ethical vegetarian" (sounds so awful: stuffy and condescending). I don't do it for health. However, if you think it will keep you away from naughty foods and improve your health and/or if you care about the ethical aspect of the diet, definitely go for it. ^__^

-what are some good resources to learn more about plant based diets?
I hate to mention Peta as I think the organization is sort of evil and full of crazies... however they do have a lot of data about various vegetarian and particularly vegan issues (I used it to look up restaurant chains that are particularly accommodating, foods you might not realize are vegan friendly, etc.)
Also, http://www.happycow.net/ is awesome for finding restaurants in your area with vegetarian/vegan options.

If you aren't sure, you can have a trial period where you eat vegetarian/vegan for a month or so. Experiment. See how your body reacts. Go with what works for you. Good luck!

ETA: A lot of the meat substitutes are less healthy options than just cooking vegetarian foods from scratch. They tend to be breaded and have a lot of fillers in them. That being said, as long as you don't go crazy with them, you'll be fine.

Very easy to understand, and the plan itself is pretty simple. Sticking to it might take some adjustment and commitment, just like any other significant change.

I recently did a Vegan Pledge run by Vegan Campaigns in London to take up a vegan diet for a month. As an omnivore for almost all my life I was really surprised how easy it was. I learnt to experiment with all kinds of different foods. It had a really good impact on my digestion. I would quite happily follow this diet for good. I'm not quite there yet, but for all kinds of reasons: heatlh, financial, ethical, it's something I'm thinking about doing for good now. It strikes me that the high-meat, high-dairy consumption is very much a Western thing and doesn't reflect what's happening in other parts of the world. But the West is where you find the highest rates of heart disease, diabetes, and yes, for all that dairy food, osteoporsis is higher in the West than in Asian countries where dairy might not even figure. I think we've been fed a lot of rubbish about dairy and calcium to be honest. Anyone agree, or not?:happy: